Action Research

This article explores the tensions and incongruities between conventional thesis presentation and the principles of action research. Through the experiences of the authors alternative approaches to thesis structure are proposed which are argued to be more congruent with the epistemological, methodological and ethical aspects of action research. Consistent with our arguments, the article is presented as a play. Act I considers the tensions facing research students wishing to write up their action research in the context of conventional thesis writing requirements; Act II consists of four ‘scenes’, each of which illustrates a key learning arising from our own stories: writing in the researcher as central to the research; staying true to the unfolding research story; using metaphor; and finally, weaving literature throughout the thesis. Act III considers the challenges of examination in the face of breaking with tradition. We conclude with a ‘curtain call’ from the narrator that offers a reflexive engagement with the main themes of the article.

When I considered research in my practice as a supervisor of teachers working inside a juvenile correctional facility, I sought ways to explore aspects of my personal experience. Heeding Reason's (1994) call for ‘critical subjectivity’ in attending to the ground on which one stands, I suggest that it is possible, by craning my neck or standing on tiptoe, as it were, to change positions, if not to leave the ground entirely. In this article I seek to capture a moment in the process of action research – a moment that occurs before engaging with others in collaborative sense-making in our joint practice. I explore my experience in this moment through five different perspectives: subjective embodiment in the practice; reflection on the practice; frames of reference; relevant and emergent theories; and personal stakes in the matter. While this effort falls within the realm of firstperson inquiry as discussed by Reason and Marshall (2001), Torbert (2000), and Reason and Torbert (2001), it also has elements of second-person inquiry, as it is oriented toward the practice I share with others.

Critical reflection is commonly seen as central to social transformation in Participatory Action Research (PAR). However, the groundings and practice of the concept and its associated applications are seldom questioned or examined. The lack of a clear conceptual basis upon which reflective practice could be developed is manifested in the routinized presentations of ‘lessons learnt' in writings. This article inquires into the concept of critical reflection and its current practice in PAR, drawing on key contributors and current PAR writings. This exploration has prompted a construction of a conceptual framework grounded on the principle of extended epistemology (Heron, 1992), in which the role of reflection or critical reflection in the creation of different forms of knowledge can be clearly discerned. In addition, the framework explicitly incorporates first-, second and third-person research practice (Reason & Torbert, 1999) to allow for the different aspects of reflective practice to emerge. Examples from my own reflective practice are given to illustrate the various dimensions of the framework. I argue this framework provides a clearer conceptual basis upon which reflective practice can be developed, with important implications for the future development of PAR.

Current literature stresses the significance of networks and network theory in both social as well as technical domains. Not only is the role of networked technologies (such as mobile phones and the internet) in everyday life being scrutinized, but network theory is re-shaping an understanding of how social change and community interaction occurs. In this article, I build on these developments to propose network action research as a methodological variant of the action research family. I propose that network action research is a timely and appropriate research methodology to guide studies that involve people, place and technology and to meet the challenges that stem from the changing nature of community interaction and social formations within a network society. I outline how technology can be used to operationalize and support network action research. Examples from two case studies are used to illustrate key aspects of the methodology.

The contribution of Rabindranath Tagore as a social action researcher to the origins of participatory action research are explored. The article explores his pioneering experiments to promote collective grassroots initiatives in rural West Bengal in the mid-20th century and outlines his philosophy of the Human Being, and of national independence and development that anticipated later-day thinking on self-reliant, participatory development.